Of the four men in the dinghy, it's easy to argue that the oiler, Billy, is the strongest and the hardest worker. In fact, the narrator of the story describes him several times as “busy” (Crane 605). When men swim to safety, it is the oiler who swims with the strongest strokes. However, of the four men, the oiler is the only one to die. This sudden change of events reiterates only one point: nature is indifferent. If nature had cared, the oiler certainly would not have been the man to die, based on his successes and skill. It is assumed that nature is indifferent to who it kills. For her our merits are